Intuitively you know it. You sometimes ignore it thinking you must be wrong or it’s nothing to worry about. I encourage you to trust yourself. Listen to that inner voice. I’m a third time mom, a doula, and a childbirth educator. I knew better than to suffer in silence. This is for all the first time moms who are unsure, unsteady, worried yet trying to be brave and strong. Throw that out the window. Be vulnerable. Go with the hunch. Trust your gut.
The first latch felt fine. New, reminiscent, fumbling, but fine. The next day I had a small blood blister on my nipple. I chalked it up to the newness of breastfeeding my third little one. Then came the pain in the next week. Latch on caused toe curling and tearful pain. I knew something wasn’t right. I checked in with my doula and midwives on possible solutions. We changed positions, used copious amounts of nipple butter, I checked his latch only to be met with little relief. At week three I knew something needed to be done. Like I said, I knew better, breastfeeding shouldn’t hurt. If it hurts there is usually some sort of mechanical issue. Positioning could be better, something is going on with baby, or there is a physiological issue. So I called the Mission Breastfeeding Center and Boutique and made an appointment to see one of their lactation consultants.
My two girls and I and the baby spent about an hour and a half meeting with Holly Mason, RN, IBCLC at the center. We weighed him and nursed. Weighed him and nursed. She checked my position and his latch. We talked about how my postpartum time was going, my diet, his input and output, how my nursing had gone with my girls.
Although his input and output “proved” good nursing we determined his latch was pretty shallow. Holly’s hypothesis after examining how he nursed and checking out his mouth was that my son was tongue and lip tied. Meaning the frenulums, the tissue that hold your lip to your gum and your tongue in place were causing him the inability to open his mouth properly to get my nipples placed properly. Holly worked up a care plan that included me weighing the baby every other day (looking for an average of an ounce weight gain every day), nursing on demand, and scheduling a consultation with Dr. Chambers at Great Beginnings pediatric dentist.
I felt a bit of relief leaving the office. I felt justified that I had listened to my instincts that something wasn’t going right. I can’t imagine having had these issues with my first-born. I’m sure I would have thought it was just the way it was supposed to be – toughening up my nipples. Just inexperience. It will get better as time goes on. I’m too tired to care. Or just throwing in the towel.
The consultation with Dr. Chambers confirmed that he was indeed lip and tongue tied. A class IV tie. The most severe of ties. We were fortunate he had time that day to laser correct or revise the ties. Post revision he nursed immediately and was comforted by breastfeeding. My husband and I had to do lip and tongue exercises several times a day to prevent the frenulums from reconnecting in a prohibitive way. And I’ll be honest; I had my husband do the exercises, as it was too much for me emotionally.
Emily Sullivan, LMBT, CD(DONA) provides John with carniosacral therapy prior to his frenectomy (tongue/lip tie revision).
We also incorporated craniosacral therapy into his overall recovery plan. I met with Emily Sullivan of Insight Birth and Bodywork before and after the revisions. Emily also works as a birth doula with Homegrown Babies. I’ve invited Emily to contribute to this post to explain the benefit of carniosacral work especially in light of lip and tongue tie revisions.
Craniosacral is a gentle, non-invasive treatment that is ideal for babies. It works both with the soft tissue of the body as well as the central nervous system. Babies need full range of motion of their tongue, jaw and neck for a successful breastfeeding relationship. Restricted oral tissues often limit this range of motion. Whether the limitation is due to a true tongue tie which is considered a “mid-line defect” or a compensatory pattern left over from the position the baby was in during pregnancy and/or the baby’s birth experience, receiving craniosacral can both help determine this as well as support a baby’s integration before and after revision. Many IBCLCs and pediatric dentists are recommending it as part of the overall treatment plan. You can learn more about carniosacral therapy online.
So mamas, listen to that little voice. Don’t suffer in silence. There are practitioners out there (wherever you are) ready and willing to compassionately help you. While my little guy and I are still working on our nursing relationship we get closer to that second nature stride every day, and we aren’t in pain any more.
